Green Jersey

Federal audit IDs ’shortcomings’ at N.J. DEP

The state Department of Environmental Protection is staring down serious criticism from the federal government, according to a report in the Bergen Record.

A routine audit identified what the federal EPA called “significant shortcomings” especially in how the DEP conducts toxic site cleanups; it accused the agency of giving too little oversight and taking contractors “at their word” rather than verifying the work. The report also noted that the DEP, which has faced staff cuts over the past four years, hadn’t fixed problems pointed out in a 2005 federal audit.

Former N.J. DEP head Lisa Jackson now leads the EPA; as Record writer James M. O’Neill says in his article, “the audit and critique of DEP performance provide an awkward instance of the agency Jackson used to run coming under criticism by the agency she heads now.”

Read the Record report here.